82.—Exchanges in favour of Sayers, and Jones down weak.
83.—Tom, who saw his time had arrived, went in, planted his favourite double on Aaron’s good peeper, and Jones fell.
84.—After a little fiddling, Tom crept close again, dashed out his left on the good eye, and then on the cheek, and Jones down.
85 and last.—Jones made a last effort, was easily stopped, and, as he turned round Tom caught him with his right a terrific half-arm hit on the right eye, and knocked him off his pins. It was evidently a finisher. Poor Aaron’s nob fell forward, and it was at once apparent that his remaining daylight was closed; and his seconds, seeing this, of course threw up the sponge, Tom being proclaimed the winner, after a gallant battle of exactly two hours. Sayers at once went to shake hands with his brave antagonist, and then repaired on board the vessel, whither he was soon followed by Jones, whose damaged peeper was at once looked to by a medical friend. The poor fellow was very severely punished, but he did not seem to feel this so acutely as he did the bitter disappointment of having to play second fiddle to one so much smaller than himself. The expedition quickly got under way, and all reached the Metropolis by nine o’clock. As soon as Sayers was dressed he went round among his fellow-passengers, and made a collection for his fallen antagonist, which reached the sum of £8. Beyond fatigue, and a few trifling bruises on his forehead and nose, he was unscathed, and he certainly could scarcely be said to have a black eye.
Remarks.—We have little doubt that many of our readers will have anticipated the remarks that we feel called upon to make respecting the two game encounters between these men. On the first occasion it was obvious that Sayers felt he had a great undertaking before him, and he was therefore naturally cautious in the outset not to throw a chance away which might at once put the victory beyond his reach. Jones was known to be a very heavy hitter with his right, as was proved by the severe punishment he dealt out to Tom Paddock in both their mills. Sayers accordingly “played ’possum,” and in the first few rounds allowed him to take the initiative, in order that he might measure his powers carefully before he exposed himself to danger. Tom proved himself extremely quick on his pins, and by his agility he to a certain extent neutralised the effect of Jones’s severe lunges. True, he got hit occasionally with effect, as witness the cut over his left eye, and also on his left ear. Jones, to his surprise, found before him a man clearly his superior at out-fighting, and one, too, as he soon discovered, but little his inferior in bodily strength. For the first hour and a half, it will be recollected, he had apparently the advantage, Sayers suffering severely from cramp, and having to depend principally upon his legs to keep him out of harm’s way; but after this he gradually recovered, and Jones, as was the case in his fights with Paddock, after the said hour and a half, gradually fell off, and became languid in his exertions. Tom, of course, improved the occasion, and showed such superiority in hitting that many thought he would have won with the greatest certainty had not darkness come on. We must confess that, although we did not say so at the time, we entertained a similar opinion, and we at the same time thought that the darkness was in other respects an unfortunate circumstance for Sayers, believing, as we did, that Jones, profiting by experience, would at the next meeting have resorted to a different system of milling, and, by at once going to close quarters, have reduced his adversary to such a state in a few rounds as to render victory certain. It seemed to us that this would have been his game in the first fight, instead of trusting to long shots, at which he found Sayers as good as himself, and we, in common with others, were fully prepared to see him adopt the system. There is no harm now in making known our opinion that Aaron’s performance on the first occasion disappointed us not a little. We all along thought Sayers had overmatched himself, and it was not until the conclusion of the first round that we changed our mind. Many shared our belief that the man who could maul the game and resolute Paddock as Jones had done must prove too much for an antagonist so inferior in size and weight as Sayers, and many blamed the latter for his presumption. Among this latter class we do not number ourselves, for it is our practice never to blame a man for soaring at high game when he really feels confidence in his own powers. Ambition, when kept within bounds, is a praiseworthy quality, and Sayers merely followed the example of other middle weights who had preceded him, in essaying to raise himself to a higher level when he could not find an antagonist worthy of his fist in his own sphere. How fully he was justified in his confident aspirations the result has proved. On Tuesday last, as may be gathered from our account of the fight, Jones fought even less “judgmatically” than at the first merry meeting. Instead of forcing the fighting at once, as he had expressed his intention of doing, he allowed Sayers to open the ball, and in the very onset to inflict such punishment upon him as to shake the confidence of his friends very materially; and not only did he allow his adversary to take extraordinary liberties with him, but he seemed to have lost his precision in returning, and for some time made not the slightest impression upon Tom’s wig-block. The exceedingly clever performance of Sayers in the third round, and the apparent impunity with which he got home upon all parts of Aaron’s dial, took his own friends by surprise, and the fear expressed was that he was fighting too fast for a long day, and that the strength and length of his opponent must tell with fearful effect when he became tired. He was cautioned as to this, but requested to be allowed to fight his own way, as he knew what suited him best. The blow on Aaron’s jaw in the fourth round was very severe, and nearly decided the event, and this we are induced to believe had some effect in stopping his rushes later in the fight, when, had he been capable of continuing the offensive with effect, the result might have been very serious to Tom, who for a long period was exceedingly fatigued, and had to nurse himself in the most careful manner in order to bring himself through. The improvement he (Sayers) displayed in every way, since his last match, was extraordinary. His system of leading off is almost perfect, and his quickness on his legs would have delighted the late Mr. John Jackson, whose opinion on the subject of this qualification is well known. He had little recourse to stopping, trusting to his activity to keep him out of harm’s way, and the success with which his manœuvring was attended was proved by the fact that he had scarcely a black eye, and, beyond exhaustion, had nothing to complain of. In addition to his quickness in defence, he seems also to have acquired greater facility in pursuing the offensive, and the weight with which many of his blows fell upon his opponent proved that his hitting was as effective as that of most 12 stone men. As usual, he stood up in the gamest, most resolute manner, and faced his adversary throughout with the utmost good humour, but, at the same time, with determination. By many it was expected he would have adopted the dropping system, as he had done with Poulson; but we were delighted to perceive that on neither occasion did such a notion enter his head; and indeed we are told that even with the bold Nottingham man he would not have had recourse to it, had he not been terribly out of condition, and altogether in such a state as to be incapable otherwise of resisting the onslaughts of so powerful an opponent. We understand that Tom has now an intention of looking still higher in the scale for an opponent worthy of his powers, and both Tom Paddock and the Tipton Slasher are talked of as his next antagonists, but that he will first rest on his oars a while to recover from his recent fatigue. How far this may be true we know not, but we presume time will show. Of this, however, we are confident, that whoever the Middle Weight Champion may next pick out, that worthy must look to his laurels, and leave no stone unturned to get himself fit for the fray; for big as he may be, he will have a hard day’s work before him. Of Aaron Jones we must say that his exhibition on each day disappointed us, and fell far short of what we expected after his extraordinary encounters with Paddock. True it is that he never once flinched from punishment, and when severely hit persevered in the most manly way to turn the scale in his favour. Not a word can now be said against his character for gameness and gluttony, for both which qualities he had already earned for himself sufficient fame in his passages with Paddock to remove any stigma that his meetings with Orme might have cast upon him. Most gamely did he persevere while Sayers was fatigued to force the milling and to wear out his antagonist; but, owing to the great quickness and judgment of Tom, his efforts recoiled upon himself; and, being unable to effect any punishment, he did but reduce himself below the level of the gallant Tom, and thus fall a prey to his opponent’s superior judgment and tactics.
Sayers’s triumphant coups d’essai with two good “big ’uns” gave him an open “perspective view” of the goal of his ambition—the Championship—an honour never yet achieved by a middle-weight. With this view he addressed a challenge to the redoubtable 13 stone Tipton Slasher, who then claimed the belt; the Tipton having received forfeit in 1856 from Harry Broome, who retired, and in the year 1857 from both Tom Paddock and Aaron Jones.
Never since the memorable battle between Caunt and Bendigo, in Sept., 1845, had there been a match which excited such general interest outside the circle of regular supporters of true British boxing. Here was a man, the acknowledged Champion of the Middle-weights, boldly throwing down the gauntlet to the equally acknowledged Champion of England, and daring him to combat for the title and reward to which for so long a time he had laid claim without meeting an adversary of his own weight and inches daring enough to deny his pretensions. Not a semblance of ill feeling was there existing between the men, and we are glad to state that throughout, even up to the very contest itself, they maintained towards one another the most kindly sentiments. The only matter at issue between them was whether a man of 5 feet 8½ inches, and under 11st. in weight, possessed of whatever science he might be, could contest, with any chance of success, against one topping the 6 feet by half an inch, and weighing not less than 14st. 6lb. The Slasher himself laughed at the idea of defeat, and stated to us his firm belief that on entering the ring he would, in addition to his other advantages, be found the cleverer man of the two. He said he had made up his mind not to run all over the ring after his younger and more active opponent, but to take his stand at the scratch, and await the onslaughts of the gallant Sayers. This we (who knew the bold Tom’s capabilities) deemed a sound determination; how far the burly Tiptonian adhered to it on entering the ring will appear in the sequel. Sayers also, to some measure, made us his confidant as to his intentions on the day of battle, and intimated that he believed the Slasher was perfectly worn-out and incapable of anything like prolonged exertion. He had fully made up his mind, he said, to keep him on his pins, and lead him about the ring, by forcing the pace, until he should be so exhausted as to be somewhat nearer his own mark. He, like the Slasher, scorned the idea of defeat, and felt such intense confidence from the very day the match was made, that he invested almost every penny he possessed upon the result of the encounter. The excitement in all quarters increased week by week from the time the match was made, and in every sporting circle the contest was made one of the great themes of discussion. The general feeling at first appeared to be that Sayers had by his victory over Aaron Jones got above himself, and that his overweening confidence would lead him into unexpected difficulties, if, indeed, as was in many quarters anticipated, the match did not end in a forfeit on his part. As the time approached, however, and it was found that both men were in active work, and evidently both meaning mischief, the doubts as to the match going on vanished, the only point remaining for discussion being the foolhardiness of Sayers, and the overweening confidence of his friends in allowing the match to come to an issue for the full stakes. The Sayers party, however, maintained their own opinion, and from first to last contended that the Slasher was stale and out of practice, that he was destitute of scientific acquirements, and so slow that any want of size and weight on the part of his adversary was fully compensated for by these deficiencies. We believe they never refused to take 6 to 4, and finally accepted 5 to 4 against their pet.
The doings of Tom’s gigantic opponent will be found in our fourth Chapter. We have noted the awakening given to the Ring by the announcement of the New Champion Belt, and the Slasher’s defiant challenge. Tom accepted the terms, and Jemmy Massey immediately made the match for the Tipton; the day being fixed for the 16th of June, 1857. So soon as articles were signed, the Slasher, who was then keeping a public-house in Spon Lane, Tipton, gave up his business and betook himself to training at Boxmoor, where he got off some superfluous flesh acquired in his calling as a Boniface; indeed when we saw him one evening at Owen Swift’s he appeared to have been carefully prepared. He was certainly not so hard and thin as we had seen him some years before; but his complexion was fresh and his muscles well developed, and he told us he “drew the balance at 14st.” He expressed entire confidence, and grinned good humouredly at the bare mention of defeat by so small an opponent. The Tipton left London overnight to avoid interruption, and was picked up on the downward voyage at Tilbury.
The stakeholder (the Editor of Bell’s Life) having to name the place of fighting, proposed to charter two steamers; one to convey the men, their seconds and friends, the other a select party of Corinthians; and for this tickets were issued. At the last moment, however, the scheme miscarried, a special boat being unobtainable. A gentleman, however, offered a vessel to start from Southend, with 250 passengers as a maximum number, on the Tuesday morning, to convey the “excursionists” wherever they might wish to go. This offer was gratefully accepted. The number was, subsequently, limited to 200, including ring-keepers, men, and seconds. On arriving at Southend, it was blowing a gale from the S.E., and there was a heavy sea on. The boat could not come alongside the pier, and it was with great difficulty that the passengers were able to get on board. It was upwards of an hour before Tom Oliver and the ropes and stakes were got in.
When all were on board, the vessel steamed out to sea, and rounded the Nore Light. The passage was anything but enjoyable to bad sailors, and many offered their contributions to Neptune in the most liberal manner. The passengers in the fore-part of the vessel were drenched with salt water, but they bore the infliction with stoical good humour. The men entered the ring between two and three, but just as all was arranged, the company seated, and the dressing commenced, a bevy of blues was seen swiftly approaching the ring. Sauve qui peut was the order of the day, and all rushed off to the steamboats, many, in their anxiety, making for the wrong vessel, and many mistakes consequently occurring. All, however, got on board one or the other by three o’clock, and a move was made some miles farther on to an island, where a second debarkation speedily took place. Another ring was pitched, and round it were quickly ranged some 3,00 persons. The movements of the steamer had put all the frequenters of the river on the qui vive, and the water was studded with boats and sailing vessels of various sizes conveying their numerous freights to the scene of action. The ground selected was excellent for milling purposes, and the inner and outer rings were formed with as much expedition as possible, for fear of further interruption. A good business was transacted in the sale of inner-ring tickets, the amount realised by which was £47 2s. 6d. The number of Corinthian sportsmen was the largest we remember at the ring-side, and the spectators most orderly. At half-past four the men entered the ring ready for business; Sayers attended by Nat Langham and Bill Hayes, and the Slasher under the superintendence of Tass Parker and Jack Macdonald, perhaps the best pair of seconds that could be found. No time was cut to waste in preliminaries; the colours were tied to the stakes—blue and white spot for Sayers, and the old blue birdseye for the Slasher—and at twelve minutes to five they were delivered at the scratch, the betting being 6 to 5 on the old one.